Create Hookier Songs With Conversational Verse Melodies
Want the best set up for your big hooky chorus? Work on your conversation skills — your conversational verse melody skills, that is. Publishers, artists and producers will tell you they are either looking for or trying to create that next hit chorus — or, at the very least, a chorus that resonates with their…
Read MoreSongwriting Is TOO Hard
Legendary songwriter Kim Williams signed me to my first writing deal and for that, I’m forever grateful. I absolutely wouldn’t have the life I now have if Kim had not believed in me and given me a chance. There is no way I will ever be able to repay the time he spent mentoring me…
Read MoreAre You Too Close To Your Song? Good Songs Need Songwriting Perspective
Have you ever poured your heart into a song about a traumatic experience you’ve just experienced, barely able to hold back the tears as you write, and then rush out to play it for someone only to get a lukewarm reaction? How does this happen? Learning the art of songwriting perspective will give your songs…
Read MoreTroy Cartwright: From Major Label Artist To Indie Streaming Success
Today’s guest Troy Cartwright (Singer-songwriter/ Host of the Ten Year Town Podcast) reveals his journey through a major label record deal, leaving that, and finding indie streaming success. Now he calls his own creative shots, crushing it with songs like “That’s Why,” “Unlove You,” and “Over You By Now.” This is a must-watch songwriting podcast…
Read MoreBlow Them Away With Your Songwriting
Clay and I often run into people who are doing all the wrong things in their pursuit of success with their music. Most of the time, the thing they need to be doing is improving their songs. That’s often the one thing they aren’t doing. They are meeting with publishers and people at PRO’s (ASCAP, BMI and…
Read MoreIf I Had To Do It Over: Reflections of a Pro Songwriter
I’ve spent a lot of time this morning reflecting on the past, looking at my career as a songwriter, and thinking about where I’d like to go moving forward. Call this the reflections of a pro songwriter. Marty and my top goal since starting SongTown has been to help as many songwriters as we could.…
Read MoreFree The Angel: Supporting Your Song’s Big Idea
There is a famous quote by Michelangelo that says “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” That is a beautiful description of what songwriters must learn to do. We get a song’s big idea and we see the “angel” inside it. So we carve and carve until the…
Read MoreIf You Want To Write Universal Songs, Become Universal
During mentoring sessions, I am asked often how a writer can make his songs more universal. It’s easy to become frustrated when a deeply personal song (that moves YOU) fails to move your audience. My answer is to become a more universal musician/writer and stop focusing on the fix that will make your latest song…
Read MoreRaising Kids and Writing Songs
The more I write, the more I see parallels between raising kids and writing songs… When my first child, Matthew was born, I knew that I knew NOTHING about parenting. I had read a lot of books about it, but I had never really done it. In fact, I had never changed a diaper until he came along.…
Read More7 Key Habits Of Exceptionally Creative People
Over the last decade of working with some of music’s top producers, recording artists, and songwriters, I started noticing similar personality traits and habits of highly creative people. These professionals possessed a certain mindset that allowed them to perform at a high level and do it effortlessly. Their personal habits funneled their energy into a…
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